Princess Raven
by Faith Moyle
Summary: AU of the Labyrinth. Jareth isn’t the only ruler of the goblins. But he is the only one who wants Sarah to stay and become his queen.


The Princess Raven

SUMMERY: AU of the Labyrinth. Jareth isn't the only ruler of the goblins. But he is the only one who wants Sarah to stay and become his queen.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Labyrinth.

Prologue 

She had been wandering about for about a few hours. She sighed, and sat down. How long will she have to do this before she finally reached the castle? If she returned home without her sister, she would die. Seriously, too. Little Lena was her parents' favorite. While Lena was treated with like a princess, Re had been treated like Cinderella. The only difference between Re and Cinderella is that Re will not meet a handsome prince and live happily ever after. She didn't even know why she was here, going around, trying to solve this Labyrinth, to retrieve her little sister, who will be turned into a goblin in less than an hour, who has made Re's life hell, who definitely had the attitude of a goblin.

Thinking on this, Re sighed again. Whatever the excuses she could think up, she still had to retrieve her sister. Lena was family after all, right?

She stood up, and began walking in the direction she was going.

She had been walking for another ten minutes before she knew something was wrong. She stopped, and looked around. She had a feeling someone was watching her. She has been having that feeling for a while now, and it made her uncomfortable. She took a baby step back and…

Darkness, falling. She was falling! Before she could cry for help, she landed. She landed on a hard ground. She sat up, and looked around. She was in the castle! There were goblins surrounding her, Jareth smirking at her from his chair, and Lena sitting right in front of her.

Once Lena saw who it was, she threw herself on Re, and cried.

"Re!" Lena cried. "I don't want to be here! Take me home! I hate it here! I hate the goblins! I hate HIM!" Lena turned around and pointed at Jareth, who shrugged.

"Is that my fault?" he asked, smirking.

Re stood up and faced him. "I'm here, can I go now?"

"Oh, of course."

Re sighed and turned to Lena.

"But, without her."

Re turned to him. "What?" she snapped. Lena clung to her leg and whimpered. 'Cry baby!' she thought.

"You lost," Jareth replied coolly, standing up. He walked around the circle of goblins. "I brought you here. I wanted you to witness your sister's transformation." He stepped forward, and the goblins parted for him, giving him a clear path to the two girls. "It'll be such a good show."

"Please," Re said. She was at the point of begging. What would happen to her if she went home without Lena? She wasn't shamed of saying she was only here to save Lena for her own sake. She actually couldn't care less that Lena was two seconds away from turning into what she truly is. "Don't do this. You don't understand! If I don't return home without her-"

"Oh, you'll return home with her. She just won't be like she is now." He looked down at Lena.

"No!" Re screamed. "I'll be beat! I'm not joking! If she returns home in any other way other than how she left, I will get punished severely!"

"I'm sorry," Jareth said, pulling on the hem of his glove. Re was surprised. He actually sounded sorry, too. He sighed. "But I cannot go back on a deal."

"What de-"

"If you got to her within thirteen hours, she goes free. If you didn't, she'd be one of us, forever." He pointed his hand at Lena, who hid behind Re's skirt.

"No!" Re snapped. She knocked his hand away before he could do anything. "Don't touch her! Don't change her!"

"I cannot do that!" Jareth argued back.

"Yes you can! You can if you had someone else in her place!" She didn't know what she was saying. Why was she giving up her life for a spoiled brat? She was only going to another spoiled brat; only she would be horribly ugly like a goblin.

"I can only take the one that you wish for me to take."

"Then I wish for you to take me, and send Lena home." Why was she doing this? For the same reason she wanted Lena home. Or, at least, that was what she was telling herself. 'It's all for my sake. It'll be better if I'm a goblin and I stay here! At least I won't be at home with my mother and father and with Lena.'

Jareth sighed. This had never happened before. He never met someone who wanted to be a goblin to save their sibling. Then again, he never met someone who only wanted their sibling so they weren't beat. He looked down at this girl. If he was to take her instead of her sister, then his goblins would think he was going soft. He decided to go with a different approach.

He pointed at them. "I want you two to follow me." Without another word, he turned around and exited through a doorway. Lena quickly followed him, leaving Re to slowly saunter after them. When she was out of the other goblins' sight, she could hear them groaning and complaining about how much they really wanted to witness another transform.

Jareth led them to a room. The room had no door, only a deep crimson red curtain. They went through the curtain, and found themselves back at the cabin that Lena had disappeared from, and Re started her Labyrinth journey from. The two girls looked around, and looked at Jareth.

Jareth walked to the door of the cabin that led outside, and opened it. Squealing with excitement, Lena ran out. Re ran to follow her, but Jareth stopped her. He shut the door, and looked at Re.

Lena, realizing that Re wasn't behind her, ran back to her home where she was sure her mother and father were waiting for her. She thought that Re would catch up after she said good-bye and thank you and such. But Re would not be returning…

"Take this, and put it around your neck," Jareth said, handing Re a golden chain necklace with a black raven hanging on the end.

Re hesitantly put it on, tears welling in her eyes. She was certain that, any minute now, she would soon become Re the goblin, with green warty skin, and a long warty beaked nose, and deep black eyes, and a high squeaky cracked voice, and a short height. She looked up at Jareth as soon as the necklace was around her neck.

Jareth nodded, and stepped closer to her. He looked around, making Re look around as well. She knew it. They were in a stoned room that she knew was back at the castle in the middle of the goblin city. She sighed as she looked back at Jareth.

"When will I become ugly?" Re asked.

Jareth looked at her, an elegant eyebrow raised. "Why, I never meant for you to be ugly."

"Well, goblins are ugly, aren't they?"

"True. But, I've never had anyone over the age of sixteen become a goblin, and you'd make such a tall, ugly goblin."

What did that supposed to mean? Wait, what?

"You are not going to be turned into a goblin."

"What?" Re shrieked. She wasn't going to be turned into a goblin? "Then why am I here? I gave up my life to save my sister, whom I hate beyond all reason, and you tell me I'm not to be a goblin?"

"I was going to shrink you, then turn you into a goblin. But that would be too much work. I could turn you into a goblin. The experience would be painful, and you will never be the same again. Or…"

Re looked up at him. Or?

"Since you 'gave up' your life for another, I don't think being turned into a goblin is humane."

"Since when were you someone to talk about humane?"

"Since I've decided to appoint you princess of the goblins. What do you say?"

Re glared at him. "I say you're out of your mind."

"Well, actually, it doesn't matter what you say," he said, ignoring her. "You have changed already." He smirked at Re's look of shock. He moved out of her view to reveal a mirror.

Re gasped. She had changed! Her clothes were no longer colonial, the time period she came from, but more elaborate, and black. Her hair was long, reaching down to her lower back, and raven black. Her eyes were dark blue. Her face was pale. She didn't feel like she was looking at herself, but a vision of someone much more beautiful. Someone who truly was a princess, and not a blacksmith's daughter. She looked up at Jareth.

"Why?" she asked quietly.

Jareth only smirked.


End file.
